The C5 Aircross compact SUV measures 4.50-metres in length, sitting between Peugeot's 3008 (4.36m) and 5008 (4.64m) with which it shares many of its underpinnings, and being a little more generously cut than the 4.37m Nissan Qashqai.

The C5 Aircross utilises the marque's proprietary Progressive Hydraulic Cushion suspension system, in effect a pair of hydraulic bump stops that help the conventional springs and dampers control compression and rebound respectively.

Unlike a conventional mechanical stop, which absorbs the energy then partially returns it, the hydraulic stop absorbs and dissipates the energy. As a result, there is no rebound.

Everyday practicality for this five-seat SUV is well catered for, with three individual sliding, folding and reclining rear seats, each with an Isofix child seat fixing. Resisting the temptation to shoe-horn another pair of seats into the back results in a best-in-class boot capacity of 580-litres, which expands to 720-litres if the rear bench is slid to its forward-most position.

Given that its local introduction is still a year out, there's no firm word on specs or pricing as yet, but the C5 Aircross lists a huge array of driver assistance systems including Autonomous Emergency Braking and Active Blind Spot Monitoring. Many of the interior fitments that we've come to expect from 3008/5008 will see their way into the C5 Aircross including wireless smartphone charging.

The seats gain a huge amount of additional memory foam padding, using state of the art bedding tech to integrate polyurethane foam and viscoelastic or textured foam to really isolate you from the road and European models have been shown with an 8in central tablet, a 12.3in TFT instrument cluster and voice recognition.

The oily bits are intriguing. Like the EMP2-based 3008 and 5008, drive for conventional petrol and diesel-engined models goes exclusively to the front wheels, despite that generous 230mm ground clearance.

If this little lot doesn't float your boat, there's the tantalising option of a 165kW petrol-electric plug-in hybrid version set to debut shortly after launch. The marque's first ever PHEV, it has a battery-only range of 50km and a full recharge of the batteries takes approximately two hours with a 32 Amp wall socket.